Written by Neil Greenberg at Washington Post.com
Every year around this time, bad teams take stock and do what they can to salvage the rest of the season. Often that means considering a change under center.
Look no further than Cincinnati, where Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has been one of the league’s worst passers this season.
Dalton has completed just 54.5 percent of his passes for 394 yards, throwing four interceptions for a woeful 47.2 rating, just a few points higher than the rating for an incomplete pass (39.6). According to adjusted net yards per attempt — a metric that correlates highly with team wins, giving a bonus for touchdowns while penalizing the passer for interceptions and sacks — Dalton has a 2.4 ANY/A, less than half the league average (5.9), making him a huge liability.
Pro Football Talk reported Sunday that “the feeling within the [Bengals’] locker room” is that “if the struggles continue” under new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, “the next one to go could be Dalton.” If Dalton is benched, that would put backup AJ McCarron in the hot seat with speculation that Colin Kaepernick could be a possible replacement soon after.
It’s a good idea — Kaepernick should be on a roster this season — but no quarterback could produce behind the Bengals’ terrible offensive line. (Cincinnati has failed to score a touchdown this season.)
According to the game charters at Pro Football Focus, Cincinnati’s offensive line has allowed a sack, hit or hurry on 41 percent of the team’s passing plays. The rest of the league has allowed a rate of 29 percent. From 2011, Dalton’s rookie year, to 2015, the Bengals’ offensive line has never ranked lower than fifth in terms of protecting their quarterback. In 2016 they ranked 10th. This year, 31st. That’s bad news for Dalton, whose passer rating goes from 94.2 in a clean pocket to 58.7 under pressure.
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